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Saturday Seeds (Black Friday Thoughts and Christmas Gift Ideas)

Thanksgiving is next week!! AHHHHH!!! Is that how you’re feeling, too, right now? What are you serving? Are you hosting? Traveling? Shopping?

Judah had his Thanksgiving party at school this week where they made these super cute Indian costumes. Somehow they came up with the name “Shining Brook” for him. 🙂

We’ve also been at church on Wendesday nights practicing for the upcoming Christmas play. I had to take this photo of the 4 and 5 year-olds this week. Look how bored they look, especially Judah’s face! haha! But, they’re so cute at the same time. This was during “take 3” that night, so of course those little barn animals were ready to get up and run around, or go home and eat dinner!

I know there is a big hoopla every year about stores being open on Thanksgiving now for “Black Friday” deals. I’m going to put myself out there for judgment and tell you that this year I’m actually planning to shop Thanksgiving evening. Yikes! Don’t hate me!! Walmart is having a big sale on the new Skylander’s Trap Team game that we plan on getting for Judah’s birthday (his birthday is also in December) as of 6:00PM Thanksgiving night. I’m going to head to the store then and try getting my hands on one, along with Disney Infinity 2.0 for the same deal. (Right after I wrote and scheduled this post on Thursday, my friend told me Walmart was selling the Trap Team for pre-Black Friday sale YESTERDAY! So, I bought it yesterday and we decided not to get Disney Infinity, so now I don’t have to shop on Thanksgiving! Yay! 🙂

Do you do Black Friday shopping? I’m not looking for judgmental comments, and I completely understand the frustrations many have that stores are now open on Thanksgiving day. But, I also know some people who work at those stores who are actually grateful for those extra work hours. So, I guess there are two sides to it and hopefully we all can just be kind to one another and remember what this season is all about. 🙂

Speaking of Christmas shopping, I’ve been searching for all kinds of gift ideas lately and want to share a few favorites I’ve come across.

EZ-Fort – A family member suggested this to us as an idea for our kids. We do not currently own it, but I added it to Judah’s Amazon wish list and hope that one of the grandparents will gift it for Christmas, or we might buy it instead. 🙂 It looks like such a fun way to build forts, and if you saw the picture I posted the other day of Judah’s homemade fort in our living room, you know that he definitely could use these poles and reinforcers for help! Ha!

Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 Kit – If you’re looking for something more education for your kids, this should do the trick! This is recommended for children 8 years and older, but Judah loves working with his hands and I think this could be a fun project for him and his daddy to work on together, while learning all about electricity. It seems like such a great game for hands-on learning!

Little Passports – We recently had the opportunity to test out a couple of kits from Little Passports. This subscription based company sends a kit once per month to help your little ones learn about the world. There are different packages to choose from based on age and geography. We tested a couple of the World Edition kits, since the Early Explorers edition was not yet available. Although I think the Early Explorers kit would’ve been a better fit for Judah’s age, he still thoroughly enjoyed learning about Egypt and Ireland.

To start the subscription, your child receives his own Little Passports suitcase and passport. Also included in the welcome kit is a wall map (not included with the USA edition) and a welcome letter from the two cartoon travel buddies, Sam and Sofia. These two characters “travel” the world and use postcards, activities, stickers, games and more to help your child in their own global adventure! For example, the Egypt kit we received included a pyramid with a hidden treasure, where Judah had to act like an archeologist and use the provided tools to dig for the golden statue!

It’s definitely a great gift idea this Christmas for the young learners in your life, ages 3 to 12 years old. Plus, it’s the gift that keeps on giving as every month when they receive their exciting new kit in the mail, they’ll immediately remember you! 😉

Norpro Mini Cast Iron Skillet – Now, here is something I want! Do you know what a Pizookie is? It’s a cookie skillet dessert, served warm with ice cream on top. I think BJ’s restaurant is famous for this name, if I remember right? Chili’s or Applebee’s (maybe both?) also serve their version along with many other restaurants, I’m sure. Anyway, I’ve been wanting to make these individual serving desserts at home but never remember to buy myself the mini skillets! I’ve just added them to my own Amazon wish list, crossing my fingers that someone (a-hem, Ben?!) might gift them to me. Ha!

Kidstir Cooking Kits – As always, I definitely also recommend a Kidstir Cooking Kit subscription for your little ones! We’ve tried out many of the kits, and soon I’ll be posting our review of the December kit (think Christmas cookies!) If you want to get your hands on the Winter Wonderland Christmas cookie kit, make sure you order soon! Also, don’t forget to use my discount code (SEEDED25) for 25% off your first month subscription!

Disclaimer: I was not paid to promote any of these gift ideas, except for the Kidstir Cooking Kits in which I am compensated a small amount based on the use of my promo code. All gifts listed above are ideas I have for my own family and like to share as I think your family would enjoy them, too!